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Union League of Philadelphia Silver Medal

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The Union League of Philadelphia awarded silver medals from 1863 to 1991. The Union League Silver Medal, one of the "medals of honor" of the Union League, is awarded to civic leaders of distinction who, through their actions, demonstrated a high degree of patriotism and made significant contributions to the United States of America. Many of the first awardees were Union officers during the Civil War or individuals who made significant contributions to the Union cause during the Civil War. There is some discrepancy between the official list of awardees, the names inscribed on some of the medals, and the owners of some of the medals. The reason for this is unclear. In 1991, The Union League of Philadelphia Silver Medal was renamed the Lincoln Award.
The Union League of Philadelphia Gold Medal and The Union League of Philadelphia Silver Medal were struck from the same die. There are many examples of the Silver Medal in the collection, with slight variations in the obverse, reverse, and suspension, but many characteristics in common. The circular medals have, on the obverse, a row of stars along the edge surrounds the text "UNION LEAGUE / JULY 4'TH / 1776 / 1863 / PHILADELPHIA." In the center, there is a stars and stripes shield with a ribbon across inscribed, "E PLURIBUS UNUM." On the reverse, a row of stars along the edge surrounds the text "ORGANIZED / DECEMBER / 27TH / 1862" or "ORGANIZED / PHILADELPHIA / DECEMBER / 27'TH / 1862." Sometimes the text covers the entire reverse, sometimes the text is only along the edge with the name of the awardee inscribed in the center, and sometimes the entire reverse is blank. The medals are attached to variations of a grosgrain red, white, and blue striped ribbon.

In 1966, Senator Everett M. Dirkson, Illinois, became the last recipient of the original design of The Union League of Philadelphia Silver Medal. In 1968, the Union League debuted a new design for its medals of honor. The obverse of the circular medal features an eagle and a stars and stripes shield over "1862", surrounded by "THE UNION LEAGUE OF PHILADELPHIA" and stars. The reverse has "LOVE OF COUNTRY LEADS" and stars around the edge, with a blank center. This medal also increased in size from 1.25" in diameter to 2.125" in diameter.

In 1989, because "a great deal of confusion exist[ed] between the Gold and Silver Medals," the Union League's Ad Hoc Committee on Medals & Awards recommended replacing the Silver Medal with the Lincoln Award, which would replicate the sculpture of Abraham Lincoln by Jakob Otto Schweizer on display in the Lincoln Memorial Room in the Union League. The first Lincoln Award was presented in 1991.

Sources:
The Union League of Philadelphia Archives

"Chronicle of The Union League of Philadelphia: 1862-1902," printed for The Union League by Wm. F. Fell & Co., Philadelphia.

Memo from Robert W. Miller, Chairman, Ad Hoc Committee on Medals & Awards, to Edward L. Jones, Jr., President, Union League of Philadelphia, November 30, 1989, from The Union League of Philadelphia Archives.

"The Union League of Philadelphia: The First 150 Years" by Barbara J. Mitnick, published by The Abraham Lincoln Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia, 2012.

The Union League of Philadelphia Silver Medal Recipients
1863
Vice President Hannibal Hamlin
Secretary of State William H. Seward
Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase
Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton
Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles
Secretary of the Interior John P. Usher
Postmaster General Montgomery Blair
Attorney General Edward Bates
Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, U.S. Army
Major General Benjamin F. Butler, U.S. Army
Major General Henry W. Halleck, U.S. Army
Major General Ulysses S. Grant, U.S. Army
Major General Irwin McDowell, U.S. Army
Major General Ambrose E. Burnside, U.S. Army
Major General William S. Rosecrans, U.S. Army
Major General William T. Sherman, U.S. Army
Major General Joseph Hooker, U.S. Army
Major General George G. Meade, U.S. Army
Major General George Cadwalader, U.S. Army
Major General Franz Sigel, U.S. Army
Major General Darius N. Couch, U.S. Army
Major General Napolean J.T. Dana, U.S. Army
Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, U.S. Army
Brigadier General Lorenzo Thomas, U.S. Army
Surgeon General William A. Hammond, U.S. Army
Colonel George H. Crosman, U.S. Army
Brigadier General Montgomery C. Meigs, U.S. Army
Brigadier General William D. Whipple, U.S. Army
Governor Andrew G. Curtin, Pennsylvania
Admiral David G. Farragut, U.S. Navy
Admiral David D. Porter, U.S. Navy
Admiral John C. Dahlgren, U.S. Navy
Captain John Lorimer Worden, U.S. Navy
Admiral Andrew Hull Foote, U.S. Navy
Monsieur Gueroult
Comte de Gasparin
M. de Laboulaye
M. Malespine
John Elliot Cairnes
John Bright
Richard Cobden
M. Tersten
William E. Foster
Robert Trimble
William L. Dayton
John Stuart Mill
Josiah Quincy
Charles Francis Adams

1864
Major General Winfield S. Hancock, U.S. Army
Major General Philip H. Sheridan, U.S. Army
Major General George H. Thomas, U.S. Army
Captain John A. Winslow, U.S. Navy
Commodore Charles Boggs, U.S. Navy
Lieutenant Commander William B. Cushing, U.S. Navy
Washington Wilks, Editor, London Star
Samuel Lucas, Editor, London Star
Baron Jacob Cederstrom
F. William Sargent, M.D.
Professor Goldwin Smith
Ishmael Day

1865
Hugh McCullough
Major General Alfred H. Terry, U.S. Army
Major General A. A. Humphreys, U.S. Army
Major General John Gibbon, U.S. Army
Lieutenant Colonel Count Warburg

1866
Major General Joseph Holt, U.S. Army

1955: General Jack L. Devers, U.S. Army
1964: General Wallace M. Greene, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps
1966: Governor William W. Scranton, Pennsylvania
1966: Senator Everett M. Dirkson, Illinois
1968: Lieutenant General Milton G. Baker, U.S. Army
1970: Dr. Kenneth Dale Wells
1970: Captain Charles Conrad, Jr., U.S. Navy, Astronaut
1984: General Paul X. Kelly, U.S. Marine Corps
1987: Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr., U.S. Navy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
1989: Secretary of State George P. Schultz

The Lincoln Award
1991: Lieutenant General Walter E. Boomer, U.S. Marine Corps
1993: Jack Kemp, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
1997: James Earl Jones
1997: Governor Christine Todd Whitman, New Jersey
1998: Sir John Templeton
1998: Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archdiocese of Philadelphia
1999: General Anthony C. Zinni, U.S. Marine Corps
2000: Governer Thomas Ridge, Pennsylvania
2001: Governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia
2002: Chris Mathews
2003: Governor Dick Thornburgh, Pennsylvania
2004: Senator Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania
2005: Governor Thomas H. Kean, New Jersey
2005: Lieutenant General Harold G. Moore, U.S. Army, Retired
2006: Senator Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania
2006: William Donaldson, Chairman, Security and Exchange Commission
2007: General Eric K. Shinseki, U.S. Army, Retired
2007: Ken Burns
2008: General George W. Casey, Jr., U.S. Army
2009: Peter Nero
2009: General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army
2009: Gordan R. England, Deputy Secretary of Defense
2010: Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court
2010: General Raymond T. Odierno, U.S. Army
2011: Governor Chris Christie, New Jersey
2011: Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
2012: Senator Scott Brown, Massachusetts
2012: Governor Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania
2012: John A. Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
2012: General Lloyd Austin III, Vice Chief of Staff, United States of America
2013: Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., U.S. Supreme Court
2014: Jessica L. Wright, Acting Under Secretary of Defense
2014: General Mark A. Welsh III, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force
2015: Senator Tom Cotton, Arkansas
2015: Admiral Michelle Howard, Vice Chief of Naval Operations
2016: General Daniel B. Allyn, U.S. Army
2016: Admiral Paul Zukunft, U.S. Navy
2016: Admiral John M. Richardson, U.S. Navy

* Union League of Philadelphia Member